The Particulars
Harvard carries a 6-2 record into Saturday's non-conference matchup with local rival Boston University at Lavietes Pavilion Saturday afternoon. The Terriers are 4-6 on the season after falling at home to La Salle, 84-81, Thursday evening.

Series History
Harvard has played BU 59 times, with the Crimson owning a 33-26 edge in the all-time series, which began during the 1904-05 campaign. After dropping eight straight games between 2001-2008, Harvard earned a road victory over the Terriers last season. The Crimson picked up a 78-70 win against BU Nov. 29, 2009. Jeremy Lin '10 scored 19 points, while Oliver McNally (13) and Keith Wright (11) also reached double figures.

Last Time Out
The Crimson toppled WPI, 69-54, Tuesday evening at Lavietes Pavilion. Oliver McNally drilled four shots from long distance, made all eight of his free throws and led the team with 20 points, while Christian Webster was 10-for-10 from the line to finish with 17 points. Brandyn Curry (11 points, seven rebounds) and Keith Wright (10 points, nine rebounds) also reached double figures for Harvard, which improved to 4-0 at home. The Crimson shot 80 percent from the charity stripe for the game, making 28-of-35 attempts.

BU's Last Time Out
The Terriers held a 38-35 lead at halftime over La Salle, but were outscored, 49-43, in the final 20 minutes, falling, 84-81. La Salle outscored BU, 44-28, in the paint, but the Terriers had a strong advantage in bench scoring, 41-10. Darryl Partin was one of five Terrier players to reach double digits, as he scored 20 points on eight field goals. Dom Morris and John Holland each netted 15 points for BU, which drained 15 three pointers in the contest.

Top RookieLaurent Rivard hit a total of 10 three-pointers in two games and averaged 18.0 points per game against Fordham and Michigan last week en route to Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors. Rivard scored a career-high 21 points against Fordham and added 15 points and five rebounds at Michigan. He drilled five treys in each game last week and added seven points in Harvard's win over WPI Tuesday.

State of Massachusetts
Harvard plays five teams from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts this season: Holy Cross Nov. 17, WPI Dec. 7, Boston University Dec. 11, MIT Dec. 31 and Boston College Jan. 5. Harvard is 2-0 against teams from Massachusetts after beating Holy Cross and WPI.

Scoring From All Areas
Four Harvard players reached double digits in scoring against WPI: Oliver McNally, Christian Webster, Brandyn Curry and Keith Wright. That marked the third time this season Harvard had four players score 10 or more points (Holy Cross Nov. 17 and Fordham Dec. 1).

Top Of The Ivy League
The Crimson owns a 6-2 record through its first eight games and boasts the best overall mark for an Ivy League school this season.

Conference Watch
The Crimson has earned victories over teams from the Patriot League, Atlantic Sun, Northeast Conference, Big XII, Atlantic 10 and NEWMAC this season. Harvard defeated teams from 10 different conferences during the 2009-10 season and has already topped teams from six different conferences this year.

Keeping Possession
Harvard has grabbed 77 offensive rebounds this season and has scored 82 second-chance points. Keith Wright paces the Crimson with 23 offensive boards, while Christian Webster (13) and Brandyn Curry (11) have also been key players on the offensive glass for Harvard.

Feeling It From Long Range
At least one Harvard player has made at least two three pointers in all eight games this season. In the win over Fordham, Harvard made 15 threes as a team, with Laurent Rivard making five, as the Crimson was just two treys away from matching a program record (17 vs. Rice in 2002).

The Crimson has hit 70 shots from long range on the season and is shooting nearly 38.9 percent from three-point range.

Harvard Against the BCS
The Crimson will play four teams from BCS conferences this season: Colorado (Big XII), Michigan (Big Ten), Connecticut (Big East) and Boston College (ACC). Harvard, which went 1-2 against BCS teams last year, boasts a 1-1 mark against BCS schools this season after beating Colorado Nov. 28, but falling at Michigan Dec. 1.

The Crimson owns a 4-6 record against BCS conference schools under head coach Tommy Amaker.

Keeping Everyone Involved
Harvard handed out 22 assists on 25 field goals in the Crimson's 82-66 win over Colorado Nov. 28. The Crimson then dished out 21 helpers on 28 field goals in the 80-57 victory over Fordham Dec. 1.

Defense Wins Games
Harvard leads the Ivy League in scoring defense, allowing the opposition only 61.5 points per game this season. The Crimson also paces the Ancient Eight in scoring margin (+8.8).

Opponents are shooting only 29.7 percent from long distance against the Crimson.

70-Point Club
Harvard owns a 4-0 record this season when scoring 70 or more points and is 2-2 when scoring less than that. The Crimson has not allowed more than 69 points in a single game this season.

Owning A Long Distance Plan
Laurent Rivard made five three-pointers in back-to-back games against Fordham Dec. 1, and Michigan Dec. 4. The Crimson freshman has buried 19 treys on the season, second most on the team (Christian Webster, 20).

Making The Most Of It
Harvard made a season-high 28 free throws on 35 chances (.800) in its 69-54 win over WPI Dec. 7. In that game, Christian Webster drained all 10 of his free-throw chances, while Oliver McNally was a perfect 8-for-8. The Crimson ranks eighth in the nation with a 78.5 percent success ratee from the charity stripe.

Winning By Effort
The Crimson has scored 82 points on second-chance opportunities this season, including a season-high 19 in the win over Colorado Nov. 28.

In The Paint
Harvard scored more points in the paint than its opponents in 21 of 29 games during the 2009-10 campaign. The Crimson has 150 points in the paint this season, but has not had a single-game advantage over an opponent through eight games. Harvard was even in the paint at Michigan Dec. 4, 24-24.

Protecting The Ball
Harvard only turned the ball over nine times, a season-low, in its 80-57 victory over Fordham Dec. 1. Brandyn Curry had nine assists and only one turnover in that game.

Career Days
A Harvard player has led his team in scoring while establishing a new career-high in points in four of Harvard's first seven games this season. Keith Wright tied a career-best with 22 points at George Mason Nov. 13, and Christian Webster netted 29 points in Harvard's victory at Mercer Nov. 20. Wright then upped his career-best to 24 in the Crimson's win at Bryant Nov. 24, while Laurent Rivard scored 21 in the victory over Fordham Dec. 1.

Hot Hand
Keith Wright has made 48-of-73 shots from the floor this season for a shooting percentage of .658. Wright, who is a 54 percent shooter for his career, entered the week ranked 13th in the nation in shooting percentage. Wright also leads the Ivy League in shooting, is second with 16 blocks and 8.6 rebounds per game and fifth with 15.5 points per contest.

Dozen Dishes
Brandyn Curry handed out a career-high 12 assists in Harvard's 72-49 victory over Holy Cross Nov. 17. Curry leads the Crimson with 45 assists this season and is averaging 6.0 per game, which ranks first in the Ancient Eight and is tied for 20th in the country.

Home Boys
Harvard set a modern day record for consecutive home wins with 10 spanning from the 2008-09 season to 2009-10, including a program record nine straight wins against Division I teams. The Crimson is currently riding a seven-game winning streak at Lavietes Pavilion and is 4-0 at home this season.

Harvard has also collected a program record 11 consecutive victories against non-conference opponents at Lavietes dating back to the 2008-09 season.

He's Honored...Again!
Keith Wright was garnered two Ivy League Player of the Week honors thsi season (Nov. 15 and No. 29). Wright netted a career-high 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season in Harvard's 69-66 win at Bryant Nov. 24. He then posted the best all-around performance of his career in the 82-66 victory over Colorado, as he tallied 19 points, collected nine rebounds, handed out six assists and blocked three shots.

Winning Mark
Harvard has won 41 of its last 65 games (.631) dating back to the start of the 2008-09 season and 27 of its last 37 contests (.730) since the beginning of the 2009-10 campaign.

With the hot streak, the Crimson has improved to 49-46 (.516) under head coach Tommy Amaker.

Around The Ivy League
In other games involving Ivy League schools this weekend, Columbia hosts Bryant and Dartmouth welcomes Army to Hanover, N.H., Saturday, while Princeton visits Tulsa Sunday.

Back In Play
Sophomore Kyle Casey, the reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year, saw action for the first time this season in the Crimson's victory at Bryant Nov. 24. Casey, who missed the first three games because of a foot injury, drilled three three-pointers and was 5-of-8 from the field overall to finish with a season-best 13 points in the Crimson's 80-57 victory over Fordham Dec. 1. Casey, who was named to every preseason All-Ivy League team, played 17 minutes against the Rams, the most action he has seen in a game this year.

Halftime Report
Going back to the 2004-05 season, Harvard is 67-16 when leading at halftime and 18-68 when trailing a game at the break. The Crimson stands 5-1 when leading at the half this year and came back from a one-point deficit at halftime against Bryant Nov. 24. Harvard's lone loss when leading at the intermission was at Michigan Dec. 4, as the Crimson led 32-25 at halftime, but fell, 65-62.

Double-Double Show
Keith Wright's 22-point, 16-rebound performance at George Mason Nov. 13, was Harvard's first double-double of the season. Brandyn Curry followed with the first double-double of his career against Holy Cross Nov. 17, handing out 12 assists and scoring10 points. Wright added another double-double at Bryant Nov. 24, scoring a career-best 24 points and collecting 10 rebounds. He then scored 18 points and came down with 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the year at Michigan Dec. 4.

Head Coach Tommy Amaker
Tommy Amaker (Duke '87) begins his fourth season as head coach of the Harvard men's basketball team. He registered his 200th career coaching victory Nov. 13 in the 2009-10 season opener at Holy Cross. Amaker guided Harvard to its first postseason appearance since 1946, as the Crimson competed in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament last season.

He brings a 226-184 (.551) career head coaching record into today's game, including a 109-83 record at Michigan at a 68-55 record at Seton Hall. Amaker is 49-46 at the helm of the Crimson.

The Start of Ivy League Play
Keeping with tradition, Harvard will tip off Ivy League play against Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H., Jan. 8, 2011.